BA (Hons) Journalism. Undergraduate

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1 BA (Hons) Journalism Undergraduate

2 Why study at Winchester? 175 YEARS WORLD-LEADING VALUES-DRIVEN HIGHER EDUCATION The University of Winchester is ranked in the top 4 universities in England for overall satisfaction in the National Student Survey The University of Winchester offers professionally-focused courses which place your future career at the heart of your learning. Our undergraduate teaching is underpinned by innovative research at national, international and world-leading levels of excellence. Our first-class teaching and learning facilities are continually being updated to enhance the student experience. IT provision includes extensive Wi-Fi access, over 750 networked PCs across campus, two 24-hour social learning spaces, a PC Finder service and a Netbook Loan Scheme. There s plenty to get involved in via our award-winning Student Union, offering a diverse and exciting range of extracurricular activities. We also have fantastic sports facilities including the University Gym and Winchester Sports Stadium. The dedicated Careers Service offers impartial information, advice and guidance to help students fully prepare to embark on their chosen careers. Our graduates have a strong track record of finding employment after leaving the University. Winchester also has a dedicated student support team to help you with any key questions or challenges you might experience during your studies. The University offers a generous portfolio of scholarships, bursaries and awards to help fund your studies you may be eligible for more than one. 2

3 BA Journalism at Winchester combines broad academic study drawn from the areas of history, philosophy, literature, arts, law, politics and culture, with a thorough training in practical journalism. This is a highly focused vocational course with an outstanding record in placing students in the industry. Year after year students on the course win BJTC national excellence awards and BBC College of Journalism awards for individual and group project work. Programme content The Journalism programme provides an excellent grounding for a professional career in all areas of journalism, including broadcast; print; periodical; and e-journalism. It combines an understanding of the media industry, its role in today s society and the practical skills needed to be an accomplished journalist in the field. Practical training includes broadcasting production; web design; news and feature writing; plus other skills which make up the craft of contemporary journalism. It also hones communication skills, particularly presentational and written, and ensures graduates keep up with the fast pace of 24-hour news. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS Typical offer: points* An A level A*-C pass is required in one of the following: English, Economics, Politics, Languages, Science or a related subject. A GCSE A*-C pass in Mathematics is required. A GCSE A*-C pass in a foreign language is recommended. Selection process: Suitable applicants are required to attend and interview *Entry requirements correct at time of print. For the most up-to-date entry requirements please visit our website at 1

4 Modules Year 1 During all three years of the degree, students study practical journalism alongside essential professional knowledge (such as media law) and contextual studies which are designed to provide a broad and balanced undergraduate areas drawing on a wide range of subject areas. In Semester 1, students take modules covering the main skills, techniques and knowledge essential to becoming an effective reporter. The basic tasks including court, crime and local government reporting are introduced together with aspects of interviewing. This module also includes a brief introduction to the study skills required for undergraduates, such as essay writing and referencing, effective use of the Library and information retrieval. In Semester 2, students begin to work within the Newsroom. Here, students experience the pressures of working to deadlines and writing copy. In both Reporting Skills and Introduction to the Newsroom, students learn how to write for a variety of news formats including broadsheet and tabloid print, public service and commercial radio and television. A working knowledge of key principles of law as they relate to news is essential for professional journalists. Law for Journalists introduces these principles and provides plenty of practice in applying these principles to particular examples or cases. At the same time, a large proportion of professional journalists begin their careers working for local and regional news organisations. Here, a knowledge of the main processes of local and central government is very important and, indeed, is required by the main accrediting bodies such as the Broadcast Journalism Training Council, the National Council for the Training of Journalists and the Periodical Training Council. Students have the opportunity to acquire production skills which are important for broadcast journalism and photography, including the use of cameras and basic editing. Students also undertake contextual studies modules such as Political Journalism and the History and Context of Journalism. 2

5 Year 2 In Year 2 students join and form the staff of Winchester News Online, a real-life simulation of a working newsroom producing online TV and radio news and sports bulletins, as well as magazine and features work in areas such as fashion, food, travel, health, beauty, politics and investigative journalism. All students must produce news content to BJTC standards but can in addition specialise in one or more of these areas. Winchester News Online has won the national award (first place) for BJTC student newsday of the year for the last three years running and is widely recognised in the journalism industry as one of the leading sources of editorial talent. The work produced on the project also won a BBC College of Journalism award for innovation in journalism in every year since the BBC initiated the scheme. Individual students have won first place in the BBC national awards for news reporter of the year, for web team of the year and for features and sports reporting. By joining the Winchester News Online team, or one of its spin off fashion or sports magazine, students get practice as actual journalists working on output which is viewed by a large online audience. The social media component of the output is also important, and students can specialise in these areas. Students appreciate the excitement and variety of learning in this way and have recorded high levels of satisfaction with the way the course is delivered and with the opportunities they are given to produce their own journalism and to take the first steps in the profession. There is no divide between video journalism using cameras, radio work using a fully equipped radio studio, writing and photojournalism for the online news sites and consumer magazines. The Winchester Newsroom pioneered the multimedia approach to journalism education with no false divisions between the various branches of the profession. Alongside this work in an industry-standard newsroom and TV and web production studios, students face a challenging series of lectures and seminars in the history and context of journalism. This programme goes well beyond the subject area of journalism itself and deals with fascinating subject matter from the areas of philosophy, literature, music, law, politics, since and the arts. It is a very broad set of topics linking journalism and current debates to a deeper theoretical understanding. 3

6 Year 3 In Year 3, students acquire advanced skills relevant to the newsroom. There are opportunities to manage the news production process and coordinate teams undertaking the key newsroom tasks, initiating stories and gathering news information, writing copy, subediting and editing copy to produce news. Simulated news days form an important part of the learning experience but there are also opportunities to contribute to broadcast programmes and print publications within and outside the University. An important element of the undergraduate programmes in Year 3 is the dissertation. This gives you an opportunity to choose a topic relevant to journalism which interests you and to research this in depth, using appropriate methodological techniques. This is a double module which spans both Semester 1 and 2. programme using the University s own radio or television studios. Learning and teaching Students undertake lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials and independent study. There is a strong emphasis upon practical activities, including reporting and producing news, work placements, trips and visits from professional journalists who visit the University to present lectures and seminars. Facilities There are excellent facilities for students who undertake any practical production work. The Multimedia Centre operates a rolling programme of upgrading to ensure it reflects current professional practice. There is a purpose-built TV studio, a computerised radio station and facilities for multi-track audio recording. The Multimedia Centre is open to students 24 hours a day. Students also complete a dissertation during Year 3. It explores an academic aspect of journalism of develops a practical project in which the students researches, writes and produces an investigatory feature. Students also take the modules Production Project 1 and 2. These modules enable you to develop an idea for a radio or television journalism text, undertake the research and programme development, and produce the Assessment Assessment takes place throughout the programme by way of essays; presentations; performance in practical components; work placements; and examinations. 4

7 MODULES Year 1 Introduction to Journalism Media Law History and Context of Journalism (1) Introduction to British politics Radio Production and Presentation TV Production and Presentation Political Journalism History and Context of Journalism (2) Journalism Major Project/Documentary Winchester News Online (4) Advanced and Specialist Multimedia Journalism Media Law Update Year 2 Winchester News Online (1) Multimedia Reporting History and Context of Journalism (3) Winchester News Online (2) Advanced Multimedia Reporting History and Context of Journalism (4) Year 3 Winchester News Online (3) Multimedia editing, leadership and management Feature Writing and Magazine 5

8 Career opportunities BA Journalism provides an excellent preparation for a professional career in journalism. It gives you the skills and knowledge which serve as an excellent preparation for a career in broadcast, print, periodical and electronic journalism. The programme has been designed in consultation with the Broadcast Journalism Training Council and the Periodical Publishers Training Council two of the main accrediting bodies in the industry. The programme draws strongly upon the academic traditions of humanities and cultural studies. Students learn a number of key transferable graduate skills including communication skills (particularly writing and presentation skills), research skills, together with the ability to analyse and synthesise information. The programme, therefore, allows you to develop a graduate career in a wide variety of occupations other than journalism. These include public relations, information services, web management and many other branches of management and administration. Indeed, the programme specifically includes a focus upon the steps students need to take to kick start your graduate career as well as practical modules in broadcasting production, web design, news and feature writing which make up the craft of contemporary journalism. Teaching team The journalism teaching team at Winchester is recognised as one of he best in the country, regularly winning awards for excellence and innovation and enjoying exceptionally close links with employers and the profession generally. Shira Pinczuk is a freelance journalist and award-winning filmmaker. She was the BJTC Journalist of the Year in 2011 and her work has been screened at national, European and international film festivals. She is currently an AVPHD student at Goldsmith University of London, working on theory of filmmaking and the exploration of realistic documentary in conflict areas. Her research reflects on borders as physical, psychological and political entities, and filming across borders and boundaries. Her work has brought her to close contact with several ethnoreligious minorities in the Middle East, such as the Bedouins, the Samaritans and the Druze people. She continues to maintain both her academic activity at the University of Winchester, where she leads BA Journalism, and the field activity and academic cooperation in Israel. Chris Horrie is Professor of Journalism and designed the BA Journalism course. In fact he also designed the first ever undergraduate Journalism course in the country back in Chris is an award-winning national newspaper journalist, widely recognised as one of the leading authorities on tabloid journalism in the country. He designed a real-time journalism simulator which was used by the BBC to train in-service journalists at the BBC. Students and graduates from courses he has deigned have won the BJTC s top awards for the excellence of their project work in nine of the past ten years and they are now working throughout the profession forming a powerful alumni group. He has been involved in journalism education for 20 years and alumni of his courses have gone on to very senior position in the BBC, ITV and Sky and on national and local newspapers throughout the world. Chris was a Director, Executive Committee and Council Member of the BJTC and as such is involved in setting and maintaining standards for journalism education throughout the country. 6

9 Angus Scott is one of the country s leading television news and sports journalists who now heads Al Jazeera s sports coverage. In this role he currently broadcasts live Premier League football news and commentary to an estimated 40 million throughout the Middle East and Africa. Angus plays a vital and central role in Winchester News Online, has mentored many students specialising in sports journalism. Projects associated with the course have included arranging for groups of students to attend the FIFA world to help with Al Jazeera s coverage. Don Hendy lectures in media and film production and is an experienced cameraman, having worked in commercial television for a number of years. Brian Thornton is a BBC journalist who combined teaching with working at BBC South and BBC News Centre in London. Previously he worked with Jeremy Paxman on the BBC Newsnight Programme. He is an extremely experienced local and national broadcast and online journalist. Brian also run the Winchester Innocence Project, a campaign and process of study and legal case review aimed at reversing miscarriages of justice. Annette Rizzo is an experience radio producer and sound production expert who also heads Winchester s Community Broadcasting research initiative. Jacquie Thornton is one of the country s leading feature writers with a special interest in journalism by and for women. She was previously women s editor of the Sun and has written extensively for Cosmopolitan and a host of women s magazines. In 2015 she won the prestigious award of freelance medical journalist of the year by the Association of Medical Journalists. Ian Anderson is a former senior producer and newsroom editor at BBC News now specialising in journalism training and media development and teaches broadcast journalism and media law in the UK and abroad. He continues to work as a regular freelance at BBC News. Other recent projects include journalism training and change strategy advice for Zambian broadcaster ZNBC on behalf of BBC Media Action the BBC s international development charity. Accreditation The course is accredited by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) and in 2010 was awarded the BJTC s award for innovation in journalism education. Contact us Paul Manning Head of Journalism Tel: +44 (0) Paul.Manning@winchester.ac.uk Course Enquiries and Applications Telephone: +44 (0) course.enquiries@winchester.ac.uk 7

10 The standard of student work is incredibly impressive. Much of the work that is produced live could easily be put straight on to a regional news bulletin. Chris Ship, Political Editor and Anchor, ITV News A tremendous course which gives students all the hands on skills they need to get jobs wonderful. Ian Anderson, BBC World Service Trust and until 2010 Editor of the BBC 10 o clock television news. I ve been completely blown away. I had no idea that student journalists were doing work as good as this. Laura Barton, Chief Feature Writer, The Guardian Winchester is in the premier league of journalism courses. I love the energy and ambition of the students. Rob Kirk, Head of Training, Sky News 8

11 Visit us Open Days are a great opportunity to explore our attractive, modern campus you can attend course talks, speak to staff and current students, take a tour and discover what student life at Winchester is all about. Find out about the support available to enhance your learning and welfare Get advice about future career options and boosting your employability during your studies Meet the staff who will be teaching you and attend talks on the courses you are interested in Talk to Student Ambassadors and find out what it is really like to study at Winchester Take a tour of the campus, including the student accommodation, the city and the University s Winchester Sports Stadium Find out about student finance including tuition fees, student loans and the University s range of generous scholarships, awards and bursaries Book your place If you are unable to come to an Open Day Campus Tours explore our campus with one of our Student Ambassadors Self-guided Audio Tours - visit our Main Reception to collect an MP3 player and map to take a self-guided tour of our campus Virtual Open Days you are guided through the University of Winchester via a range of short films which you can view on your computer, tablet or smartphone Open Days team T: +44 (0) E: opendays@winchester.ac.uk W:

12 Finding out more... Course Enquiries and Applications Telephone: +44 (0) The University of Winchester Winchester Hampshire S022 4NR /08/15 a large print version of this booklet is available on request